Tag Archives: Thomas Cromwell

This book is one volume in the outstanding Yale English Monarchs series and was published in 2011. This series always delivers high quality and reliable historical research. This book is no exception.

Edwards is an expert in English as well as Spanish history, making him uniquely qualified to write a biography of Mary who married the Spanish King Philip II. A lot of material is covered here. Edwards illustrates Mary’s childhood and describes how she went from being the beloved princess and apple of her parent’s eye to tortured soul. The descriptions of how she was treated by Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell in getting her to acknowledge her parent’s marriage as null and void and her own bastardy are harrowing.

Mary’s valiant fight for the throne is portrayed. Her tortuous decision to marry Philip was made in secret and was announced as a surprise to her council and the kingdom. There is a great deal of unique insight into the personalities of Mary and Philip and nice details about their marriage and partnership in ruling England. There is a chapter in the book where Edward’s gives context and background information on how Calais was lost on Mary’s watch. The loss of this strategic enclave on the continent was the unfortunate a by-product of the Hapsburg and Valois infighting over control of Italy. As Edward’s depicts the history, it is a riveting read.

The greatest contribution of this book are the chapters dealing with Mary’s lifelong dream to return England to the bosom of the Catholic Church. There were many practical and complicated matters to resolve for which there really were no permanent solutions. In this battle, Mary worked with her cousin, the Papal Legate Cardinal Reginald Pole. He was her main advisor. Edwards gives his fair and balanced analysis of why Mary burned the alleged heretics.

At first, the transformation from Protestantism to Catholicism went relatively well Mary. But when Pope Paul IV was elected, the entire operation took a drastic turn. Paul had been a personal friend of Pole but after this election, he began to turn against King Philip II and eventually Queen Mary and Pole were drawn into the conflict. This totally hampered Mary’s dream for England to be Catholic again.

This book is really fascinating. I enjoyed Edwards’s insights into Mary’s personality. If anyone is looking for a complete and enthralling biography of Queen Mary I, I would recommend this one.

There are many readers who enjoy historical fiction from the Tudor era. I used to be one of them and have many fond memories of reading the delightful books of Jean Plaidy and Norah Lofts. Due to the constraints of historical research, I haven’t read any fiction for years. But I thought I would make an exception for my friend Janet Wertman and read the first book of her Seymour Saga.

What a delight this book is! Wertman’s premise is that Jane Seymour was the plain sister in the family and all she really wanted was to get married. The story opens with Jane working as a lady-in-waiting for Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII and the Queen are about to go on summer progress. Jane is sent to the family home of Wulfhall to oversee the preparations for the King’s visit. While Henry VIII is there, he and Jane have a moment in the garden and that’s where Jane’s romance begins.

Jane’s prospects improve from that moment on. Wertman includes all the iconic moments in Jane’s life. There’s the day Anne Boleyn caught Henry with Jane in his lap and the famous scene where Henry tries to give Jane a bag of coins and a letter. Jane refuses the gifts with great aplomb. I love Wertman’s dialogue throughout the book. All the famous characters from the Tudor court are here: Jane’s brothers Edward and Tom, her sister-in-law Anne Seymour, her sister Elizabeth, Thomas Cromwell, Ralph Sadler, the notorious Anne Boleyn and of course, Henry VIII in all his royal splendor.

The scenes of the birth of Jane’s son Edward and her death as written are very vivid and moving. There’s a lot of insight into what Jane, Edward Seymour, King Henry and Thomas Cromwell are thinking, their behavior and their motivations. This book took me back to those Jean Plaidy days. I think any reader would enjoy the book and highly recommend it. I’ll be looking forward to the rest of the Seymour Saga from Janet.